40 years later, we're still eating like Elvis

Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley's untimely death. And while the indelible effects of his career on the progression of 20th century music are far from forgotten, the mark he left on the food world is also worth acknowledging.

Probably the most notable of the King's culinary contributions is his famous sandwich: peanut butter, bananas, bacon. It's kooky, decadent, and surprisingly contemporary, what with this bacon-in-everything moment that we can't quite seem to shake. While banana and peanut butter are predictable bedfellows, the bacon adds savory crunch, a staccato in an otherwise goopy melody.

Elvis throughout the years

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Elvis Presley through the years

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Elvis Presley through the years

Circa 1958, American singer and actor Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977) sits in a restaurant wearing his US Army uniform. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)

(Original Caption) Elvis Presley runs a comb through his famous tresses at the Draftee Receiving Depot here on March 24th. The songster is scheduled for a trip to the G. I. barber on March 25th, where the key to his locks will probably be found.

JUNE 24: Rock and roll singer Elvis Presley poses for a portrait with teddy bears to publicize the release of his record 'Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear' on June 24, 1957. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - JANUARY 6: Rock and roll musician Elvis Presley performs on stage on the Ed Sullivan Show on January 6, 1957 in New York City, NY.(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Singer Elvis Presley holding up actress Jennifer Holden, his co-star in the film 'Jailhouse Rock', as they spend time together in a swimming pool, circa 1957. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

American rock and roll singer and actor Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977) smiles as he stands with his hands in his pockets and a guitar around his shoulders during his second appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, New York, New York, October 28, 1956. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - AUGUST 1956: Photo of Elvis Presley during the filming of 'Love Me Tender' in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 01: Portrait around 1966 of the American singer/actor Elvis PRESLEY. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 01: A portrait around 1966 of Elvis PRESLEY, the famous American singer/actor. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NV - AUGUST 1: Rock and roll musician Elvis Presley during a press conference after his first performance at the International Hotel in Las vegas, Nevada on August 1, 1969. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

380450 08: President Richard Nixon shakes hands with Elvis Presley December 21, 1970 at the White House. (Photo by National Archive/Newsmakers)

Promotional headshot of actor and musician Elvis Presley, as he appears in the documentary film 'Elvis; That's The Way It Is', 1970. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY - JUNE 9: Entertainer Elvis Presley gives a press conference for his three day concert at Madison Square Garden on June 9, 1972 at New York Hilton Hotel in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

(Original Caption) Elvis is Back. New York: Elvis Presley, 37, tells one of his rare news conferences in New York that his gyrating performances of 15 years ago, which shocked thousands of parents and got him censored below the waist on television, were 'tame compared to what they're doing now.' He said, 'All I did was jiggle.'

Hailing from Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis' twang belied a palate equally as Southern. He favored biscuits and bologna and held a special affinity for anything deep fried. In a 1995 BBC documentary, Mary Jenkins Langston, Presley's preferred Graceland chef, loads a cast iron pan with pats of butter before lowering a peanut butter banana sandwich into a boiling bath. Clad in a t-shirt emblazoned with Presley's face, she smiles at his memory and greases burger buns in his honor.

She prepared for him the homestyle recipes of his impoverished youth. One element of fame and wealth to which Presley never acclimated was the diet. He denounced champagne and caviar in favor of collards.

Unfortunately, his diet had much to do with his death. And at the tender age of 42, Presley suffered a fatal heart attack. So we celebrate his memory—and appetite!—with some Elvis inspired recipes pulled from the site. Enjoy in moderation.

American actress Priscilla Presley, who was married to Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973, circa 1975. (Photo by Terry O'Neill/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

American actress Priscilla Presley, who was married to Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973, circa 1975. (Photo by Terry O'Neill/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(Original Caption) Entertainer Elvis Presley leaves Santa Monica California Superior Court after being granted a divorce from his wife Priscilla. The couple had been married six years and in spite of the October 9 divorce proceedings, they appeared very amicable as they left the courtroom.

American actress Priscilla Presley, who was married to Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973, circa 1975. (Photo by Terry O'Neill/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 01: (AUSTRALIA OUT) USA Photo of Lisa-Marie PRESLEY and Priscilla PRESLEY and Elvis PRESLEY, with his wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa-Marie - c.1970 (Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns)

LOS ANGELES, CA - 1988: Actress and former wife of Elvis Presley, Priscilla Presley, poses during a 1988 Los Angeles, California, break in filming of 'The Naked Gun.' Presley starred with Leslie Nielsen in the three cop spoofs. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

MEMPHIS, TN - MAY 4: Priscilla Presley gives a press conference to announce Elvis Presley's home, Graceland Mansion, will open to the public on June 7, 1982 as a memorial museum on May 4, 1982 at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)